Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey,

I got rid of my rat breeding colony b/c of the dust and smell...well... I'm thinking of going to ASF rats and was wondering if there is a bedding that keeps the dust down (was using Harlan aspen)?

Or does the dust come from the animals?

Thanks,

Steve

first i will say you must have ventialtion. a window or something. i keep my doot ajar 1/2" so it allows for air movement. as far as bedding i used aspen, carefresh, and finally used eagle valley animal bedding. its cheap and works like a charm. i buy 6 50 pound bags and just use a small amount on the bottom floor and it lasts 5-6 days. i also use rat cages from bigappleherp.com if your using small tanks there so hard to clean and maintain. as far as asf rats they from what i heard really smell. i dont have the site for eagle valley but just do a search with aol or google im sure you will find it. than you can locate a local dealer. also use the big apple cages they are excellent and use rodent lab blocks in the hopper. i use mazuri 6f 5m30. good luck!

i forgot i aslo have a small fan on a timer for 5 -7 hours when its hot.

is Eagle valley pelleted pine and how much is the bag50#.Chris thanx................

I use the Eagle valley ABM, comes in 35# bags (never seen a 50# and not listed on the Eagle site??) I get a whole pallet (60 bags) to get a lower per bag price, $4.85/bag. I think the single bag price is around $6. Yes it is pelleted pine and works great.

eagle valley

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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
24.36 BRB
19.19 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

thanks for the correction about bag size.

okay, first off, ASF rats do NOT smell. Nothing like mice or regular rats, there is almost no smell at all unless you never clean. With weekly cleanings I never smell them at all, unlike mice.

As for caging the ASF, whatever you use make sure it is mouse proof, as young ASF start moving around really early and small and can easily escape 1/2" rat sized mesh or bars. They are also avid chewers so if you use plastic tubs make sure there are no ridges or holes that they can get a hold of and start chewing through.

n/p

ASF? I have 24 hour window exhaust and use aspen for my rats and pine for my mice.

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Shannon in Reno
1.0 savannah monitor (Pombe-means "beer" in Swahili)
2.4 dogs
1.0 cat
5.32 rats
6.44 mice
7.50 chickens
1.2 beardies
0.1 black rat snake
~500 hissers
1 giant millipede
0.1 Chissel tooth kangaroo rat
1.1 rabbits
1.0 wonderful husband